Avon Man In Jail After Franklin County Drug Bust

An Avon man is behind bars after a massive drug bust in northern Franklin County.

Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols called this one of the biggest drug busts he’s ever seen in this area. Last Friday, authorities armed with a search warrant raided the Avon home of Daryl “Poochie” Searles, 56. What they found was jaw-dropping.

* 2.5 of marijuana with a street value of 4-thousand-dollars

* 442 Oxycodone pills that police say Searles could have sold for around $20,000 in this area

* Six firearms including rifles and pistols

* $144,000 in cash

“As you can see this is a pretty substantial find for us,” Nichols said Tuesday. “You know the pills are the biggest problem. Pills have always been a problem here in Franklin County. to take this off the street is really a big deal for us, it’s really a big deal for anybody.”

Investigators say it’s impossible to tell where the specific pills found in Searles home came from. But investigators did say they are noticing that many of the pills here in Maine are being brought in from out of state where they can be bought for a lot cheaper and sold here for up to a 500 percent markup.

“This represents days, weeks, months you know, of work on the part of our investigators. So, it’s very gratifying to see this come to fruition. I’d like to say this puts a dent in it but there’s a lot of it out there. That’s the problem and this is just one dealer and there’s many others out there. We’re working on others at this time.”

Searles is charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and aggravated drug trafficking. Nichols says more charges are likely coming after the district attorney reviews the case and presents it to the grand jury. Searles is due in court in June.